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Blank Space
Blank Space is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album 1989 (2014). It was written by Swift, Max Martin and Shellback. The song was released to the radio by Republic Records on November 10, 2014 as the album's second single, after "Shake It Off" and is the second track on the album. Musically, "Blank Space" is a synthpop song with lyrics that satirize the media's perception of Swift and her relationships. "Blank Space" was a critical and commercial success, having reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 following "Shake It Off". Swift became the first woman in the Hot 100's 56-year history to succeed herself at the top spot. It has also been included in numerous year-end critics' lists. The song has also topped charts in Canada, South Africa and Australia. It also charted in the top-10 in numerous countries, such as Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and was shot over three days. It has reached 1 billion views on Vevo, becoming the third and the fastest to do so. It's also the most viewed music video by a female artist on both YouTube and Vevo, and the third overall. The song received its first televised performance at the 2014 American Music Awards and as part of "Taylor Swift's 1989 Secret Session with iHeartRadio" on October 27, 2014 in New York City. Chart performance The song topped the Hot Digital Songs charts with sales of 155,000 copies in its first week, making it the second song from 1989 to reach number 1 on the Hot Digital Songs, becoming Swift's ninth number one on that chart. Swift stood at rank three as the artist with the most number-one Digital Songs tying her with Eminem and surpassed Rihanna for the most number-one debuts. The song debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. In its second week, the song sold 164,000 copies (up 5%) and moved up to number 13 on the Hot 100 being the Airplay Gainer. In its third week, the song sold 328,000 digital copies (up 100%), spurred by the release of its accompanying music video, and jumped to number one, becoming her third number one single and making Swift the first female artist to replace herself at number one (the number one song of the previous week was "Shake It Off") and tenth overall among all artists. The song remained at number one on the chart for seven consecutive weeks making it Swift's longest reign at #1 besting her previous records of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "Shake It Off" which peaked atop for three and four weeks respectively. It also helped set a record for the longest period that the #1 spot on the Hot 100 had been held only by female musicians. On the chart issue dated January 17, 2015, it was pushed to the runner up spot as Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!" topped the Hot 100.18 It reached its one-millionth sales mark in its fifth week. As of May 2015, "Blank Space" has sold 3,980,000 copies in the United States. The song stayed in the top ten for 17 weeks including the song's seven week reign at the chart's top spot, making it Swift's second longest time lingering in the top ten, bested only by "Shake It Off" which spent 24 weeks in the chart's top ten. In New Zealand, it debuted at number 26. In its third week, the song jumped from number 33 to number four, becoming Swift's sixth top-five hit in New Zealand. In Australia, it debuted at number twenty-nine before reaching number 1 on November 22. In the United Kingdom, "Blank Space" debuted at number 99 on November 8, 2014, after the release of 1989. After the song was released as the second single from 1989, the song re-entered the chart at number 11, progressing into the top 10 the following week, becoming Swift's seventh top 10 hit in the UK. Ultimately, "Blank Space" peaked at number four, and charted in the top 10 for ten weeks. Critical reception "Blank Space" received critical acclaim from music critics, who commended the song's quality and Swift's self-deprecating tone. PopMatters called the song to be "likely the best of Swift's career and easily a candidate for the best pop song of 2014" and that it "captures the essence of 1989 in all its glimmering, solipsistic glory". The New York Times noted the song as a clever metanarrative, commenting that "This is Ms. Swift at her peak. It's funny and knowing, and serves to assert both her power and her primness." In a positive review, Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound recognized it as "It's the work of someone who finds success in misadventure, instead of wallowing in it." Los Angeles Times called it: A thrillingly vicious riff on Swift's reputation as a man-eater, a topic she also addresses in the album's jumpy lead single, "Shake It Off". "Got a long list of ex-lovers / They'll tell you I'm insane", she sings, her voice surging with newfound power, "But I've got a blank space, baby / And I'll write your name." It was included in several critics' year-end lists and was the second and the sixth best song according to Time and Rolling Stone. In January 2015, "Blank Space" was ranked at number 3 on The Village Voice‍ 's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll, one rank before "Shake It Off". Lyrics Category:1989 Singles